09-04-2025
Healey awards environment restoration funds following Colrain acid spill
COLRAIN, Mass. (WWLP) – The Healey-Driscoll administration has awarded funds to the Connecticut River Conservancy to assist in restoring natural resources damaged by an acid spill in Colrain.
An environmental restoration project has been ongoing following an acid spill from the Barnhardt Manufacturing Facilities in 2019, and the surrounding ecosystem has continued to be impacted as a result.
Sewage spill stopped in Connecticut River after DEEP makes repair
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) said that the acid spill soaked into the ground and flowed into the North River, damaging over 14 acres of sensitive cold-water fishery habitat and wetland resources, including the habitat of two state-listed rare species. Through the MassDEP Natural Resources Damages Program, the Healey-Driscoll administration has used settlement funds to award a grant of $224,100 to help restore and repair these damages.
Using the grant funds, the town of Colrain and the Connecticut River Conservancy plan to hire a consultant to design the removal of the Colrain Lower Reservoir Dam and stabilize stream banks adjacent to the fire station. The projects will benefit the North River's fisheries, aquatic life, wetlands, and sediment.
'For decades, the North River watershed served as a habitat for fish and wildlife, and a recreational resource for fishing, hunting, and shellfishing,' said MassDEP Commissioner Bonnie Heiple. 'We are grateful to be working with the Connecticut River Conservancy and the Town of Colrain to improve water quality and fish habitat in the North River. By working together, we will restore natural resources in Colrain.'
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